US sanctions 9 Lebanese officials for shielding Hezbollah and blocking disarmament efforts

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sweeping counterterrorism sanctions on Thursday against nine individuals in Lebanon, targeting a network of politicians, military officers, and security officials accused of shielding Hezbollah from disarmament.

The sanctions freeze all US-based assets and financial interests linked to the designated individuals, whom Washington accuses of using positions within Lebanon’s parliament, military, and intelligence services to preserve the influence of the Iran-backed group.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Hezbollah remains a terrorist organization that must be fully disarmed, adding that the United States will continue pursuing individuals who infiltrate state institutions to support what he described as a “senseless campaign of violence” against the Lebanese people.

Among those sanctioned are four senior Hezbollah political figures serving in the Lebanese parliament. Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb Fanich, head of Hezbollah’s executive council and a former cabinet minister, was designated for allegedly overseeing the restructuring of the organization’s administrative apparatus to sustain its armed presence.

Also blacklisted were veteran lawmakers Hassan Fadlallah, Ibrahim al-Moussawi, and Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan, accused by the Treasury Department of using their official positions to advance Hezbollah’s agenda and oppose efforts to disarm the group.

The sanctions package also targeted senior Lebanese security officials accused of providing material support and intelligence assistance to Hezbollah. Brigadier General Khattar Nasser Eldin, chief of the National Security Department within Lebanon’s General Directorate for General Security, and Colonel Samir Hamadi, intelligence chief for Beirut’s Dahiyah district within the Lebanese Armed Forces, were among those designated.

According to the Treasury Department, intelligence and operational information was allegedly leaked to Hezbollah during conflicts over the past year, underscoring what US officials described as deep infiltration of Lebanese state institutions by the militant group.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott called on Hezbollah’s supporters within Lebanon’s political, business, and security sectors to end their backing of the organization, saying Hezbollah has brought significant suffering and instability to Lebanon.

In response, Hezbollah condemned the sanctions as an American attempt to intimidate Lebanon and strengthen what it called “Zionist aggression” against the country. In a statement, the group said the sanctions targeted officials and officers because of their refusal to support disarming the “resistance” and rejecting what it described as US-led “surrender projects” designed to benefit Israel.

Hezbollah said the sanctions were “a badge of honor” for those targeted and insisted they would have no effect on the group’s political or military stance. The organization also accused Washington of attempting to pressure Lebanon’s security institutions ahead of meetings at the Pentagon, warning that the measures represented an effort to impose American hegemony over Lebanese state institutions.

The group called on Lebanese authorities to defend the country’s constitutional, military, and security institutions in order to preserve national sovereignty and the dignity of the Lebanese people.